Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
My wife is pregnant and as I understand it she can only fast if a Muslim doctor approves it but during this pregnancy she became insulin dependant diabetic so couldn’t fast anyway because she took injections. [Which I have been told isn’t uncommon amongst pregnant women.] Must she make kifaarat? Must she make up the missed fasts if she becomes free from insulin dependant diabetes?
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
1. You understanding is not entirely sound: the default is that pregnant women do have to fast. (Search for ‘pregnant fasting’ at www.sunnipath.com) and see: The Essentials of Fasting at www.sunnipath.com
2. Injections do not invalidate the fast in the Hanafi school. (Search for ‘injections fasting’ at www.sunnipath.com) As such, she could have fasted. However, due to the nature of the error, no expiation (kaffara) is needed: she must simply:
a) repent from the error,
b) make up the missed days of fasting.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani